She did not go into details but it is likely Ms Collins talked about whether to commission another report into the case and, if so, by whom.

She rejected the work of Justice Ian Binnie, a former judge of the Canadian Supreme Court, as flawed and going beyond his mandate in recommending compensation and delivering a report with serious errors.

Former New Zealand High court judge Robert Fisher peer reviewed Mr Binnie's report for Ms Collins and last year she did not rule out him as a person who might conduct a further report.

After today's Cabinet meeting, the first of the year, Ms Collins issued a statement saying she had updated her colleagues on the status of Mr Bain's application but no decisions had been made on the next steps.

She reiterated the fact that no one was entitled to compensation and that Mr Bain's application falls out the cabinet guidelines for approving compensation - although exceptions have been made in the past.

She would make an announcement when a decision on further steps had been made.